Firefighters Leave 93-Year-Old Woman Out In The Cold

TAKOMA PARK, Md. (WUSA) -- A car crashes into a house, rupturing a gas line and sending the woman inside out into the rain. But it was what happened to that woman after the crisis was over that has the family outraged.

Vaida "Nanny" Shelton, 93, was at her home on the 20th block of Philadelphia Avenue when a car crashed into the front.

"Oh, it just sounded-- a horrible sound-- boom," she says.

Firefighters say the slightest spark could have caused a massive explosion. They escorted Nanny and two dogs out of the house.

"He said to get out of house it was dangerous-- it might explode," Nanny says.

A neighbor says she found Nanny standing outside, without a coat, trying to hold onto two large dogs.

"They were pulling on me. I could hardly handle them," Nanny says.

"She could have had a really bad fall and been dragged down the street," says Lisa Tucker, Nanny's granddaughter.

Nanny lives with Lisa, who was at work when the crash happened. Nanny didn't know Lisa's work number by heart. Her neighbor finally found the number online. Lisa is upset that the fire department didn't do more to contact her.

"I find out about this hours after everything had happened because no one contacted me, no one knew how to contact me," she says.

9 News Now contacted Captain Oscar Garcia with Montgomery Fire & Rescue and told him what happened. He then visited the family.

"I apologize for that," he told them.

He answered their questions and gave them what's called a File of Life pouch so in the future, firefighters can get emergency contact details more easily.

He says it includes, "Medical information, an allergies, and any emergency contact information that may be needed."

Lisa says she wants other families to learn from this situation and have a plan in place for everyone in case of an evacuation.